Shopping

Sidewalk Sale deals extend to bus rides

Today’s the day for shoppers to find deals at Downtown Lawrence’s annual Sidewalk Sale.

More than 150 retailers are expected to take part in the sidewalk sale, which runs from sunup to sundown today.

Booths will line Massachusetts Street from Sixth to 11th streets, and also will be on many of the downtown side streets.

Shoppers will be able to catch free rides on the city’s public transit system, the T, to make it easier to get to the crowded downtown area. The free rides on the system won’t be limited to just the downtown routes.

All eight public transit routes will be offering free rides from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. today. Fares normally are $1 per ride.

Celebration

City birthday party funding approved

A plan to host an annual birthday party for the city received a warm reception from city commissioners Wednesday.

Commissioners gave preliminary approval to a $4,000 request from the city’s Sesquicentennial Commission to host a birthday celebration at 4 p.m. Sept. 18.

The party would largely consist of a special concert by the Lawrence City Band and would be held in South Park, said Clenece Hills, president of the commission. A time for the concert has not yet been set.

Commissioners, during a budget session, also directed City Manager Mike Wildgen to include $4,000 in the city’s 2006 budget for a similar event.

Hills said she would like the city to have an annual birthday celebration, with it ultimately moving out to Sesquicentennial Point, an in-the-works city park near Clinton Lake.